Horouta

Description

Horouta is the definitive history of the descendants of the voyaging canoes that brought the first settlers from Polynesia to the lands that stretch from East Cape to northern Hawke's Bay.Assembled through painstaking historical and genealogical research over more than 70 years by Rongowhakaata Halbert and his family, the book includes extensive chapters based on oral and written history about the settlement of the East Coast, along with the most extensive genealogy charts for the region, and detailed maps of lands in the region.This outstanding work of scholarship is destined to serve the needs of all New Zealanders, and especially the peoples of Gisborne and the East Coast, for generations to come.

Rongowhakaata Halbert (1894-1973) was an authority on East Coast genealogy and history, renowned for his command of te Reo Maori. He was a member of many eminent boards, and adviser on Maori issues and language to bodies including the Maori Land Court, the Polynesian Society and the Department of Education. Horouta, his life's work, was brought to publication after his death by his descendants, led in the last stages by the late Te Nonoikura Haronga and the late Peter Gordon.